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Finbarr Bermingham

Lu Shaye, the former Chinese ambassador to France who stoked a series of high-profile controversies during a half-decade in Paris, has been appointed as Beijing’s special representative for European affairs.
European Union authorities were recently notified of Lu’s appointment, marking a swift return to the political scene for an envoy who left France in December, several sources confirmed.
Lu succeeds Wu Hongbo, who became the first holder of the office in 2019.
Wu was dispatched to Europe on several occasions after Beijing’s zero-Covid policy ended in 2022, often when ties became especially fraught.
The experienced diplomat frequently clashed with EU counterparts over China’s relations with Russia and Western accusations of industrial overcapacity.


Lu’s five-plus years in Paris, meanwhile, were characterised by an abrasive style and very public fallouts with the French government and authorities elsewhere in Europe.
In April 2023, he found himself at the centre of a diplomatic storm after questioning the sovereignty of former Soviet states in Europe. He had been asked in a French television interview whether he considered Crimea to be a part of Ukraine under international law. The peninsula was annexed by Russia in 2014.
“Even these ex-Soviet Union countries do not have effective status, as we say, under international law because there’s no international accord to concretise their status as a sovereign country,” Lu responded.
The remarks drew widespread anger from Ukraine, France, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the EU itself and others.
Beijing scrambled to distance itself from his comments and limit the damage, while dozens of European Parliament legislators called on Emmanuel Macron’s government to declare Lu persona non grata.
Lu was summoned to France’s foreign ministry several times, including over an article in April 2020 suggesting Paris was abandoning old people in nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic.
He earned notoriety for calling Antoine Bondaz, a respected China scholar at a French think tank who was critical of Beijing’s alleged disinformation, a “little rascal” and “rabid dog” in 2021. He caused a further storm when he claimed in 2022 that re-education would be required for the Taiwanese population after reunification.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary.
Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.
Yet despite all the controversy – and frequent speculation about whether Lu would be recalled – he served the full term as ambassador.

Lu’s appointment comes at a delicate moment for China’s relations with Europe, which have deteriorated in recent years amid rows over trade, geopolitics and human rights.
Ties have been significantly strained over China’s close relationship with Russia since the latter’s invasion of Ukraine, while long-standing commercial grievances have threatened to bubble over into a full-blown trade war.
With US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House last month, Beijing had been expected to pursue a “charm offensive” towards Europe, said one diplomat, who was one of several sources to voice surprise at Lu’s selection for the job given his reputation in Europe as a provocateur.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, meanwhile, has signalled repeatedly this year that the door is open to improve ties with China, as the bloc looks to recalibrate its geopolitical relations in the face of anticipated turmoil in the transatlantic dynamic.
“You have to wonder why he would be put in such a position at this time,” said a second EU diplomat. “It is an unusual signal to send.”
At a farewell reception at Beijing’s embassy in Paris in December, however, Lu’s remarks were more conciliatory.
“Economic and trade relations have always been the ballast of China-France relations. Cultural exchanges are the driving force. And Chinese people in France are a bridge that connects our hearts,” he said in comments that appeared in videos on social media.
His appointment comes ahead of a series of engagements at the EU-China level. The EU’s top official for Asia, Niclas Kvarnstrom, is due to visit Beijing next week to meet counterparts, while its top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, is slated to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference days later.
In his monthly newsletter for the German Marshall Fund for the United States, analyst Noah Barkin reported on Tuesday that EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic “has received an invitation from his Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, to visit Beijing. Commission officials would prefer that he go to Washington first”.
A date has not yet been set, however, for the EU-China summit, which is expected to be held in Brussels towards the end of the year.
European officials are assessing whether Chinese President Xi Jinping would travel to the Belgian capital and hope his attendance at recent bilateral summits held in Beijing and online set a precedent for the format. But the Chinese side has insisted that the summit be held at Premier Li Qiang’s level instead, sources said.


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China-EU relations

Lu Shaye, China’s controversial ex-envoy to France, handed new role for Europe

Lu Shaye served as China’s ambassador to France from 2019 to 2025. Photo: Xinhua

Lu’s selection for the European affairs post comes as the EU signals an openness to improve ties with China. Photo: Chinese Embassy in France

Chinese e-commerce in spotlight amid EU push to scrap duty-free access for small packages

Chinese retailers ship billions of small parcels to the EU each year. Photo: Getty Images 

EU shifting tone of stance on China as it prepares for frictions with US

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said there was “room to engage constructively with China – and find solutions in our mutual interest”. Photo: Reuters

The EU is developing a set of potential trade agreements with China. Photo: Shutterstock

Maros Sefcovic, the European trade commissioner, said the EU should still coordinate with the US “on how to deal with the joint challenges coming from China’s non-market policies and practices”. Photo: EPA-EFE

“if you are weak he eats you, and if you don’t negotiate he kills you,” Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg’s foreign minister, said of Donald Trump. Photo: EPA-EFE

China could win big from transatlantic trade war, EU leaders warn Trump

US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of US tariffs on EU goods. Photo: TNS

‘Surrounded by sharks’: Europe tries to keep afloat amid pressures from China and US

Former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has warned the EU that, amid the shifting geopolitical landscape, it must learn to “swim and survive”. Photo: AFP

EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic has indicated that Brussels hopes to work with the new Trump administration on some parts of China trade policy. Photo: EPA-EFE

EU keen to work with Donald Trump on China’s ‘non-market policies’: trade chief

US President Donald Trump has pledged to slap tariffs on European products. Photo: AFP via Getty Images

Maros Sefcovic, EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 23. Photo: EPA-EFE

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Appointment of experienced diplomat known for abrasive style and high-profile fallouts comes at delicate time for Sino-European relations


Appointment of experienced diplomat known for abrasive style and high-profile fallouts comes at delicate time for Sino-European relations.
